Infant TV Associated with Limited Verbal Interactions

In a new study by Mendelsohn et al , researchers studied the TV behavior of 154 low-income mothers and their 6-month-old infants.  97% of the mothers reported that their infants watched TV every day.  The researchers observed that the parents interacted with their children just 23% of the time that the TV was on.

As CMCH mentions in our guide to media and developmental stages, infants and toddlers need stimulation in three main ways, none of which are provided by television-watching: interacting with people, interacting with their physical environment, and solving open-ended problems. 

Comments

[poulsbo flowers]

that's pretty alarming.